Silence
by ShadowFAIT
Summary: Shizune is bullied. 1 day she's running from them and ends up falling through a well. There she finds people who actually seem to care. Will she be able to overcome her silent curse and speak freely once again? Better than sounds,plz read/review! Inu/OC
1. The Chase

Hey guys, welcome to my new Inuyasha fanfic. I actually got the idea for this quite a while ago, so I have absolutely no idea why the heck I typed up this chapter in the past half hour and decided to put in on . Call it one of my many random qualities. The point of being a writer is to be random right? Well it should be.

Anyway, just read this and see if you like it.

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**Ch. 1**

"Hey, wait up!"

Shizune turned to the voice with hopeful eyes. A girl ran toward her waving her arm as if trying to get her attention. Shizune slowed to wait for her.

The girl ran right past her.

Shizune lowered her head in embarrassment, letting her dark hair fall over her eyes. She should have known better than to get her hopes up. She could be such an idiot. Why would anyone even consider talking to her unless it was to cast an insult? Shizune just sighed and distracted herself with thoughts of how she would do her homework tonight.

Rounding the corner she heard a familiar rhythm of giggles and chatter. Her view rose from the ground and ahead she spotted them, the group of nasty, manipulating girls in short skirts. Quickly lowering her head in the "I'm invisible" position she made a quick u-turn and walked in the other direction, deciding it would be better to take the long way home today.

After going around the corner once more she heard the group of girls go silent, then exchange a few words in hushed tones. Knowing what was coming Shizune quickened her pace while still trying to look oblivious to the other girls' presence. She could hear a series of footsteps clicking menacingly behind her.

"Hey Shizu! Wait up!" one of them called in a tone of forged kindness.

Pretending not to hear them she walked faster. Behind her she could hear them speed up as well. As they started to catch up Shizune broke into a run. The girls followed suit.

Shizune raced blindly down the sidewalk and through the streets, but the girls just wouldn't give up. She passed many people who glanced at the situation, but turned away, caught up in their on problems. Just as Shizune rounded another corner she spotted a large set of stairs going up a steep hill to her right. She bounded up the steps three at a time and arrived to what looked like a shrine at the top. Peering back she saw the girls coming up the steps, though they were much slower in the process.

Not wanting to waste the opportunity Shizune looked around for a place to hide and possibly wait the them out. There was a house, probably not a good idea, people lived there. The giant tree? No, that would be the first place they'd look. Near the tree she spotted a small wooden building. Nearly out of time she ran in and closed the sliding door behind her with a relieved sigh. She would just wait here until the giggly group left and then carefully take a long detour home.

Shizune finally looked up to take in her surroundings. The small temple was dark and musty. Shizune walked down the small flight of steps and peered cautiously over the edge of the well, barely able to see the bottom in the darkness.

"Hey guys, let's check for her in here!"

Oh no. This wasn't supposed to happen. They weren't supposed to find her!

Shizune spun around and stood there in fear as the footsteps approached the temple. She took a small fearful step backwards, as if that would help. Unfortunately there was no step to take backwards, instead there was the well, which, in a frenzy of panic and fear, Shizune bumped against and somehow managed to fall into. Falling head first she waited for the crash that never came.

The wooden doors hurriedly slid open, pouring light into the dim room.

Empty.

"Idiot, I told you she wasn't in here," said on of the girls as she bopped the other on the head.

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Sorry this chapter was a bit short, I plan to make them longer in the future, but this was just a good place to leave off on this one. Just consider this chapter as more of a 'setting' than a chapter.

Please comment if you want to me continue writing this fanfic. I promise I'm going to try to not make this as predictable as it sounds.


	2. Closed Mouth

I'm redoing some chapter in this story because I'm not too fond of them. I've been putting this off for quite a while now, but I've finally decided to do it before I continue the story, so here you go.

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ch. 2**

"Kagome's here!" exclaimed Inuyasha as he ran out the door.

"It's about time, I don't think I could have taken anymore of Inuyasha's fidgeting and impatience," Kaede said with relief.

"Tell me about it, he just can't stand still for even a minute when we could be out hunting for the jewel shards," noted Miroku with a hint of exasperation before following the rest of the group out.

When the group reached the well they found it empty. They glared at Inuyasha in annoyance.

"What's the deal Inuyasha? I thought you said Kagome was here," asked an annoyed Sango.

"Look, all I know is that somebody came through that well, I could smell the human scent!" Inuyasha paused and sniffed the air carefully. "Wait, that's not Kagome's scent. Somebody else came through this well."

Shippo looked up at Inuyasha, confused. "But nobody else can go through the well except you and Kagome, who else could it be?"

"I don't know, but whoever they are, they're still nearby."

Just then a shuffle of grass was heard from the other side of the well.

"Stop hiding and show yourself," Inuyasha ordered the well.

Nothing happened.

"If you won't show yourself then it looks like I'm going to have to force you out," he warned, unsheathing his sword.

There was a another shuffle of grass and a figure jumped up suddenly. It was just a girl from Kagome's era, and it looked like she was scared out of her wits. The girl spotted the huge sword that the dumbstruck Inuyasha held before him. Her eyes widened with fear and she dashed into the woods like a scared kitten.

They was a brief moment of the silence that usually follows such shock. But brief is just what it was.

"Way to go Inuyasha," commented Miroku sarcastically.

"Me?! What did I do? She was the one who ran!"

"Well, you pointed your huge sword at a poor girl who has probably never seen a weapon bigger than a knife before. You expect her to stand there and introduce herself? Any sensible person would have run away. _I_ would have run away."

"Well what do you want me to do about it?!" Inuyasha asked, fuming.

"Isn't it obvious? We need to go after her! A girl from Kagome's time is running around in our time full of demons and bandits. Need I say more?"

Inuyasha grumbled a no, but got serious. Miroku was right. They needed to find her.

* * *

I am ran. I am ran as fast as my feet could carry me. Although that might not really be that fast at all. Still, considering that I don't see the weird people from back at the well behind me I couldn't be that slow.

The trees started to blur around me. I kept running, not wanting to stop until I felt safe from the people with the large sword that looked like it came out of a video game.

What the heck was going on? I fall through a well and next thing I new I was in another world. Was I still in Japan? Was I still on Earth?! I don't recall people on Earth threatening other with giant swords.

My feet slowed down below me and the trees could be clearly defined as trees once more. I stopped. I had no idea why I just stopped, but I did. I breathed heavily and heard footsteps. Multiple footsteps.

"Hey! Who are you and what are you doing here?"

I looked up to see a group of men. Hunters it looked like. Why would Tokyo have hunters? Haven't they ever heard of a supermarket? Or were these the other worldly aliens? Did they not have supermarkets?

"Answer us!"

I counted the men. There were six of them. They all had either spears or arrows. How far could arrows shoot? If you shot them in an empty field would they eventually fall to the ground or would they fly on forever until they hit something?

An arrow stabbed the tree, inches from my face. Everything blanked out and I stared at the arrow. I heard the bow pulling back for another shot. My arms covered my head and I waited for the pain.

It didn't come. I saw only darkness, then realized my eyes are closed. I opened them and saw one of those weird people from earlier standing in front of me. He was dressed in a red kimono. Tone who had pointed his sword at me.

I turned and ran, but a firm hand grabbed my wrist.

"Idiot, stop running."

I didn't know why, probably because his grip is so strong it could rip my arm off if it wanted to, but I stood still. The boy in red scolded the hunters. Apparently they knew him. Something about a village and Kaede. Finally the hunters went on to continue hunting, only to be replaced by the others from the well. There was a small kid with a fox tail, a lady with a giant boomerang on her back, and a man in black and purple robes holding a staff. The girl spoke first.

"Hey, you can come out you know, we're not going to hurt you," she promised kindly as if speaking to a scared little kitten.

I didn't move from my newfound spot behind the tree as I eyed the red guy's sword sheath. She noticed this.

"Look, what happened earlier was a misunderstanding. Inuyasha's an idiot, but he won't hurt you. None of us will."

So his name was Inuyasha. Weird name. Were the others' names that weird too?

"Could you tell us your name?"

Why was his hair white? He had ears too. Dog ears. Right on top of his head. I reached up and gently felt the top of my head.

"Could you tell us how you got here?"

What was the use of a giant boomerang? Wasn't it heavy or exhausting carrying that thing around all the time?

"Hey girl! Speak already will ya? You're starting to bug me," Inuyasha demanded angrily.

"Inuyasha, be nice. She's probably still in shock from falling through a well into a totally different era."

So I was in another era? In the past? How far back? How did a well do this? Could I go back? Did I _want _to go back?

"Come with us. We'll take you back to the village and try to explain all this," says the robed man kindly.

My feet were rooted to the spot. The others started walking and I stayed hidden behind my tree. I was still to wary of these people. Another era? Was that really possible? What if they were just making this all up?

"Oh for pete's sake!" Inuyasha came over and grabbed me. He put me on his back piggyback style and started running so I couldn't get off, which I was too terrified to attempt now anyway. The others ran and caught up. The lady was on a cream colored fox with two tails whose feet were on fire.

"Was that really necessary Inuyasha?"

"Yes, it was. I swear this girl wasn't going to move if I didn't do something!"

_This is awkward_, I thought, _but then again, so is this whole situation_.

I must have run pretty far after all, because we didn't get back to the grassy field right away. On the way the people kept asking me questions, but they eventually grew silent as I watched the leaves blur into the sky above me.

* * *

This girl was weird, and she was really starting bug Inuyasha. The whole way back to the village she hadn't spoken a single word, even with all the questions Sango and Miroku had been asking her. She had totally ignored them! Now they were back at the village and she was still silent. Inuyasha was pretty sure this girl could talk, so why didn't she? Sango and Miroku kept saying how she was in shock. Even Kaede gave that excuse when she met her. But Inuyasha refused to believe this. Kagome hadn't stopped talking when she fell through the well. She couldn't shut up.

Inuyasha looked over at the girl. She was sitting in the farthest corner, as far from everyone as she could get in the small hut. She seemed to be silently observing everyone as they talked about the situation. Every few minutes they would turn to her and ask her a question. She would look at them for a few seconds, before going back to staring off into space or at the floor.

"Do you remember how exactly you fell into the well?" asked Sango.

The girl looked up again. She opened her mouth ever so slightly, but quickly closed it. She shook her head slightly and turned away. _She's lying_, he thought, _how could she forget?_

Inuyasha couldn't take it anymore. He marched up to her, looming over her sitting form.

"Will you say something already?! There's no way just going through that well would make somebody stop talking! Sango asked you a question, so answer it!"

There were some scolding 'Inuyashas!' from the group behind him, but he didn't care. This girl was really bugging him!!

Looking down at her Inuyasha saw her look at him as if he was about to hit her. Her yellow eyes were wide with fear and she was desperately clutching her backpack. Inuyasha instantly felt bad for scaring her and put his hand up to say he wasn't going to hurt her, but she recoiled instantly. For some reason the very idea that she could think that he would hit her angered him.

"Idiot! I'm not going to hurt you you know!"

Of course, this didn't help the situation, and only ended in scaring her more. The hair on her head almost look as if it was rising. Miroku came over and put his hand on Inuyasha's shoulder.

"Come on Inuyasha, you're just making it worse. Let's just leave her alone. She's had a long day and needs some sleep. We'll try to talk to her again in the morning."

Inuyasha was about to protest, but Miroku gave him a stern look and instead he just let out a frustrated sigh before walking off.

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Hope you like the redo better, I just changed it a bit, not that much.


	3. Subtitles

**As mentioned at the beginning of the last chapter, the odd writing style used for Shizune's pointed of view has been nixed. I didn't like it much and prefer my normal style to it anyway. I made this chapter a bit short, but that's because I have no idea what exactly shall happen next. When I figure it out shall produce a nice long chapter with action and maybe even some growth in the nonexistant relation between Inuyasha and Shizune!**

**But for now, you're stuck with this, enjoy!**

**Ch. 3**

"Would ye like to help me gather some roots for tonight's soup?" Kaede asked, looking down questioningly at Shizune, who only stared up mutely.

"Yes," she answered for her, not bothering to wait for an answer, and walked out the door.

When Kagome had come in the late morning the day after the Shizune's arrival let's just say that surprised was an understatement. It turns out they even went to the same school, they just had different classes. Kagome had eventually found last year's yearbook, found Shizune in it, and in the process found out her name. It's been only a week since her first appearance here, but it felt like it'd been longer. Shizune didn't really know why she kept coming here. Maybe it was the forest. So many trees to climb, and it was so quiet and peaceful. She could just run forever in those woods. Each time she'd venture out a little farther than before, wanting to see more of this place. When not running she'd be with Kaede in the village, helping her out now and then.

"Shizune?" Kaede called. Shizune jumped up to follow Kaede. She pushed aside the straw mat curtain in the doorway, only to jump back ten feet in surprise. Inuyasha was standing right before her, staring straight at her. Shizune looked down at the ground and quickly made her way past him. She didn't exactly know why, but Inuyasha scared her. He got angry so easily, and he was always glaring at her like she might suddenly attack everybody. Shizune just tried to avoid him, which was hard because he always seemed to be watching her. She didn't think she was supposed to be aware of this though.

She could even feel his eyes on her back right now as she rushed to help Kaede. On the way she saw Kagome and the others returning from another attempt to search for the jewel.

"Hello Shizune, you sure seem to like it here. How long will you be staying this time?" asked Miroku.

Shizune was silent as usual. You'd think they would give up on making her talk by now, but this group was a persistent bunch, and they frequently asked her questions in an attempt to get her to speak. They still couldn't figure out why she wouldn't talk.

Just as Shizune was about to walk off a light bulb went off above Kagome's head.

"Oh, I just remembered. Here Shizune, I got this for you!" Kagome exclaimed as she took off her backpack and stuck her hand in.

Curious, Shizune waited. Finally, Kagome pulled her hand out of the massive bag, a notebook in her hands. She handed it to Shizune, whose hand gingerly grasped it. She stared at it incredulously. She couldn't remember the last time somebody had given her a present.

"It's a sketchbook. I walked by an art store the other day and had this awesome idea," she reached into the outside pocket of her bag and pulled out a sharpie. "Here, since you won't speak, could you at least write down what you want to say? You have to want to say something right?"

Shizune gently clutched the sharpie in her hand. Her first thought was that she had been tricked. But then she realized that Kagome was just being thoughtful. And it was an awful nice looking sketchbook. It had a hard cover so that she could easily write on it.

Shizune glanced up from her sketchbook at Kagome, who was smiling at her hopefully. Shizune wondered how long it had been since she had smiled like that, or at all. She flipped open her sketchbook and uncapped her sharpie, hurriedly writing something down in big letters. The group watched in anticipation, even Inuyasha, who had curiously walked over to see what was happening. Flipping the sketchbook so that it faced Kagome, she revealed a largely written _'THANK YOU'_ that took up the whole page. Shizune tried to ascend the corners of her mouth into a smile, but found her lips stiff in place. She hoped Kagome was okay with just the written 'thank you'.

* * *

Even with the sketchbook, the group wasn't able to get much out of Shizune. She remained just as much a mystery as before. But sometimes she would pleasantly surprise them with a message from her new sketchbook, though so far she hadn't used more than four or five words at a time, which in the end didn't reveal much.

When Shizune had later silently escaped for an afternoon run, Inuyasha secretly followed her. Again. He still didn't trust her. She would so often disappear to 'run', which was pretty suspicious. How did he know she wasn't secretly contacting Naraku? With all the devious tricks Naraku had pulled lately, Inuyasha wouldn't be surprised if this was another one.

Shizune darted suddenly to the left. Inuyasha was just barely able to dodged a tree that seemed to suddenly pop up before him. _That had not been there before!_ Inuyasha protested at himself in an attempt to explain his stupidity and struggled to follow her. She was so fast! And now she seemed to be changing directions every few seconds, as if trying to lose him. But how could that be? Inuyasha was being completely silent for human ears. No, there was no way she knew he was following her.

Distracted, Inuyasha almost hit another tree that also felt like it had popped out of nowhere. He really had to start paying more attention.

After ten minutes of similar pursuit, Shizune finally slowed down and stopped in a small clearing. She sat down on the ground, panting. Her hand rubbed a spot on her head twice as Inuyasha secretly watched from the bushes behind her.

She reached for her sketchbook, which she now kept in her relatively empty backpack. She scribbled something on it, making squeaky noises with her black marker as she wrote. Seconds later she lifted it up above her head so that the phrase was facing Inuyasha.

The words were boldly printed on the blank paper.

_'I KNOW YOU'RE THERE.'_

Well now, that was creepy. Are you a phsycic Shizune? Cause you're starting to creep me out bit....

Also, helpful criticism is appreciated, especially on your opinion about the whole sketchbook thing. I thought it might add some humor to the story in the future^^

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	4. Recluse

**In case you're wondering why the heck you just got another reminder of the same chapter reposting is because I wasn't happy with the ending before and decided to change it. **

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Ch. 4

"Hey Shizune! Where have you been the past few days? We missed you," called out one of the guys from a few desks behind me. He immediately burst out laughing with the guys sitting around him.

I wanted to say something. I wanted to turn around and give a witty comeback that would make them all shut up.

Ha! Like that would happen.

"Gentlemen, this is not the gym. Settle down and get to work," said the teacher without looking up from his desk.

_My hero_, I thought sarcastically as I made my way over to the pencil sharpener. The loud hum of the electric box cutting away at my pencil drowned out the voices and snickers around me. The sharpener made a sudden jjjt! sound and I looked to see my pencil sharpened down to the metal piece. Great. Just great. How long had I been standing there like an idiot as my pencil rapidly shrank?

I walked back to my desk and hoped I had an extra pen handy. My foot caught on something and I lurched forward. My hands reached forward to break my fall, but my desk beat me to it as the edge hit my forehead. It was all downhill from there as I clumsily crashed to the floor.

"Is there a problem Izimiki?" asked the teacher as he looked up in annoyance from what seemed to be the most exciting round of test grading in the world.

I could feel the kids around me staring me down, daring me to say something. I stared at the ground a shook my head no.

"Then would you please try to remain in your seat? Let's refrain from having any more accidents today shall we?"

The students starting giggling as I sat back down, gingerly rubbing my forehead. I searched my bag and guess what? No pen. I looked around to see if there was anyone who could possibly lend me a pen, but all I saw were dark faces snickering. They seemed to blend together and close in on me, suffocating me. I felt a wad of crumpled paper hit my back. Two more. The giggling grew louder, smothering me. I pulled my hood over my head and lay my chin down on my crossed arms. I stared intently at the curvy lines the wood.

And tried my hardest not to cry.

Inuyasha sniffed the ground intently before jumping up onto the school building. He landed on the ledge right before the window of Kagome's classroom. She spotted him and gave a deathly glare, warning him that a certain word could come out of her mouth any second. Getting the message Inuyasha moved so that he was against the wall and not the window. Sniffing the air another familiar scent reached his nose. Inuyasha scampered across the ledge to a window three classrooms down. He scanned the classroom and found Shizune sitting at her desk with her hood covering her head. Her thick chin-length hair was hidden under the cotton and made it a bit harder to recognize her.

_Well, I doubt one of Naraku's creations would go to school,_ Inuyasha realized, _guess there's some other weird reason for being able to go through that well._

Upon concluding the girl's innocence Inuyasha heard the snickers coming from inside the classroom. From what he had heard from Kagome's complaining, school wasn't really a place where one laughed. Looking at Shizune he realized that she wasn't laughing along with them, but instead staring intently at her desk as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. It was then that he noticed the look on her face. She looked like she was about to cry.

BBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Inuyasha nearly fell off the ledge at the loud noise. Actually he did, but was hanging on to his left hand for dear life. After he pulled himself up once again he found Shizune's classroom empty except for a sour looking teacher with a terrible comb over, straightening his papers and putting them into a slick black briefcase. Inuyasha turned around and watched the kids slowly trickle out of the school. Soon the trickle became a mass mob racing for the gates. At the gate he noticed a hooded figure break off from the crowd and dart quickly in the opposite direction.

"SIT BOY!"

The view of the hooded figure was quickly broken as the ground rushed up to greet Inuyasha hard smack in the face.

"Kagome....why...." he groaned in pain.

"Baka! People might see you up there! And where's that cap I told you to wear when you go out in public here? Never mind, I have a spare," Kagome grabbed a blue cap with college initials boldly printed on the front and roughly placed it on Inuyasha's pouting head. "I got it at one of those university tours, knew it would come in handy."

Inuyasha pouted at having the dumb hat put on his head, but was inwardly distracted. He looked around for the hooded figure, but here at ground level all he could see were hundreds of teenagers running past him.

I rushed home as fast as my legs could carry me. They felt like jelly below me, but somehow I made it home safely without running into anyone unpleasant. In the apartment building I waited for the elevator. I waited five seconds before deciding it was taking too long and barging up the flight of stairs instead. I fumbled with my keys, the lock blurring before me. Inside my legs raced me to the bathroom and bowed before the toilet.

I washed my mouth off in the sink afterwards, before going into the kitchen and grabbing a pack of canned orange soda, two bags of sour cream and onion chips, and some ramen. I dumped the contents on my bedroom floor along with my bag pack and sat cross-legged on my bed. I flipped on the miniature TV I'd gotten cheap at a garage sale, skimming the channels rapidly. I wasn't paying attention to them though, I just kept pushing the channel button as fast as I could with my thumb.

I suddenly stopped and found myself at a channel talking about zebras. I ripped open a bag of chips and dumped some in a bowl placed on my lap. Staring at the TV I shoved some chips into my mouth, but I couldn't taste them.

The images on the TV started to blur. Water began running down my face. One drop at first, then another, until they started coming down in torrents. I reached up and frantically tried wiping them away. Crying wouldn't do me any good, it never had before. Still, the tears kept raining, no matter how incessantly I tried to stop them. At length I surrendered and let them fall freely, not even caring that they were making my chips all soggy.

Though I was crying fiercely, my sobs barely made a sound. My mouth was incapable of making the noise.

How long had it been since I had cried this hard? I didn't really remember, but when my eyes were dry and had no tears left to give they left nothing but a red puffy face and stuffy nose. I felt completely drained. My body fell deep into the sheets below me, and, ignoring the fact that it was only six at night and the TV was still on, I pulled the covers up to my eyes was instantly slipped into sleep.

When I finally awoke the bright green letters on my alarm clock read 5:30 pm. I had slept practically a whole day. I walked sluggishly to the bathroom and washed of my face, it felt all hard from the crying I'd done yesterday. The cool water felt so good that made a cup with my hands and splashed it all over my face.

I glanced up and saw myself in the mirror. My thick black hair was all tangled and sticking out in five different directions. I grabbed a brush and roughly pulled it through the tangled mess. It kept getting stuck on knots and finally I just gave up and threw it against the wall. All it left was a small scuff mark. For some reason this made me extremely angry.

I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream!

But what was the point? There was no one to listen. Only silence would answer me if I spoke, so what was the point of speaking?

That's right, there was none.

I trudged to my room and went back to sleep.

In short, the room became my 24 hour dwelling for four days, maybe five. I didn't go to school, for whenever I was absent the class seemed twice as bad when I came back, as if to make up for lost time. My mom would knock on the door once every night and ask me to come out. I didn't once respond, so she would just set down a tray in front of my door and tell me to eat. In the morning she'd find it there, untouched, then sigh and dump it in the dishwasher. Only to clean it and put it before my room once more that night.

I kept my blinds closed and the TV on some channel that showed old movies my mom probably used to watch. As if to protect me, I kept my covers were wrapped around me like it was below 0. Now and then I attempted to eat some ramen, but whenever I brought the forkful of noodles up to my mouth I suddenly felt like throwing up again. The steaming plastic cup would then sit on my dresser until it turned sticky and cold, forcing me to throw it away. My orange soda was the only thing that didn't make me want to puke, so that was all I had for those five days.

It was on the fifth day spent in my room that I mustered up some courage and decided to go to school. I had an important test that might not be a good idea to skip if I didn't want to repeat this year. I slipped some clothes on, brushed my hair for real and stuffed the rest of the orange soda in my bag along with the sketchbook.

As I approached the school gate my steps slowed significantly, reluctant to take me closer. I'd been gone for five days, who knew what my class had cooked up for me?

Once I entered the school gates I quickened my pace. My gaze pointed at the ground as I ignored the whispers and giggles surrounding me. I don't know what rumours my spread this time, but at this rate it didn't make much of a difference to me. People backed away when I approached, as if afraid that my absence had been over some disease.

On the other hand, those in my class didn't seem to be the least bit afraid of me as I approached my classroom. Their elbows stuck out and 'accidentally' nudged me. I was even pushed through the classroom door. I lost my balance and fell forward.

The metal ledge coming off the chalkboard brushed my cheek on the way down. It stung, and when I reached my hand up to try and quell it my fingers touched something sticky and wet. Great. Just great. Class hadn't even started and I was already bleeding!

"Is there a problem Izimiki?" asked my teacher, who for once looked slightly concerned.

I almost told him. I really did. I almost told him how the class had been picking on me since day one, how they were the ones who had tripped, and how they were the reason I came in class all muddy that one day.

I almost told him.

But I didn't.

Why did I shake my head no? Why did I just sit down and take my test like a good little schoolgirl? Why didn't I say something?!

I wasn't even sure my mouth was capable of opening anymore. Would it make a difference at this point if it was stitched shut?

At lunch I found myself standing awkwardly. Alone. Alone as I watched everybody locate their friends, sit down in the cool shade of a tree, and immediately start chattering endlessly. I hadn't brought lunch either. I knew I wouldn't be able to eat it anyway. It would only end in my urge to puke.

Whispers started forming around me. Not all were about me, but it didn't matter. The whispers were forming a wall, slowly pushing in on me, smothering me. My eyes became watery, my throat tight, and my stomach suddenly felt as if it were doing a cartwheel.

My feet took over and I ran. I darted past the people shouting 'coward' and straight through the gate. I already knew that I was a coward. Nothing but. Still, at this point I felt like I had no control over my body except for the tears I struggled to keep in.

Instead of dashing home I went in the opposite direction. I ran towards the shrine.

I didn't know what awaited me on the other side as I stood before the well, but it had to be better than what was waiting at school, so I took a deep breath and jumped in.

* * *

Crummy ending to the chapter, I know, but I promise that something juicy comes hither next chapter!


	5. Secret Revealed

Finally another chapter!! With some actual excitement, and a secret. Enjoy!

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**Ch. 5**

The stars. They're so pretty here. They're never this bright back in my time. Too many lights I guess. Here there's no lights at all. Nothing but the moon and stars to guide you.

"Hey, thought I'd find you up here."

A head popped up at the edge of the roof, bearing glowing silver hair and two white doggy ears. My body tensed and I quickly sat up, ready to get off the roof. Sensing this the half-demon jumped up and landed next to me.

"Calm down, I'm not going to bite you know," he assured me, laying down to face the night sky.

I sat still for a second before finally gathering up my little courage and lying back down as well. Silence passed and I was beginning to hope he wasn't going to talk to me.

I hoped too soon.

"Why don't you talk?"

The question felt like an arrow. A sharp, pointy arrow digging into my back.

I didn't know the answer myself. I don't even remember when I stopped talking really. I guess it happened gradually. The last time I ever spoke was probably no more than a few months ago. But even then I'd barely been speaking. Maybe a better question was, 'When was the last time that I spoke freely?'

"Shizune? You're not going to answer are you?"

I struggled to find an answer, I racked my brain. But all I found were more buried up memories of the past years. More memories of things I've been through. Things that were better off forgotten. Like that incident that started it all.

Inuyasha stood up. "Fine. I guess I'll leave you be then."

No! Don't go. I need to answer your question! My question! The one I've been avoiding all this time. I need to answer it! I need to say it out loud!!!

Inuyasha looked back at me. "Just wondering, but if your life was in danger, would you be able to scream?"

This question was like an electric shock coursing through my veins in one quick second. Inuyasha left the roof, but I was frozen. Cries rang through my head like bells. Past cries for help. For them to stop. To leave me alone!

Ha! Screaming? Crying for help? What good would it do if did? I've got the answer. NONE! It's never done me any good and it never will. EVER! People never care for anyone but themselves and helping others is _not_ on their agenda.

My head started pounding and my stomach starting doing cartwheels again. I had to get out of here. I had to run. Far away. I just needed to get as far away from here as possible.

Next thing I knew I was in the forest, the trees blurring around me into the night as I ran. I ran as far as my legs could take me. I ran until head stopped pounding, my stomach settled, and those cursed questions failed to follow me.

* * *

Something landed lightly on my nose. I tried to blow it off but it wouldn't budge. I tried wiggling my nose but that failed too. Reluctantly I cracked open an eyelid to find leaf. I whipped it off in frustration and pushed myself up. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes I looked at the sky. How long had I been sleeping?

Half the sky was covered in a slowly spreading darkness, blending gradually into a dark purple, then pink and orange. I could just barely see the tip of the sun as it lowered behind the black silhouettes of mountains in the distance.

I'd slept practically a whole day! Curse my ability to sleep for unbelievably long amounts of time.

Oh well, it's not like anybody was waiting for me anyway. I forgot, I can disappear as long as I want, and it won't make so much as a speck of difference in anyone's life. Would it matter to anyone if I never came back?

My muscles suddenly tensed and I felt the impulsive urge to flee. I sniffed the air and the retched scent of blood and decay filled my nostrils. A low growl came from the trees and without warning a monster emerged from the darkening forest. The stench became stronger. He was enormous, almost taller that the trees themselves. Filthy ragged fir covered his body, clashing against his bright yellow eyes. They were like two lemon drops. And they were hungry. Hungry for live flesh. For blood.

The creature pounced. I turned and fled, but instantly felt myself slowing down. I had no energy. The past 5 days of living on nothing but orange soda were finally catching up to me. Why now?! I might as well have been a statue as the creature's clawed hands wrapped around me, lifting me off the ground. Squeezing me slowly.

I desperately gasped for air. The beast was practically grinning with glee at my weak struggle. Those two eyes laughing maliciously.

I was going to die. Then and there. The last seconds of my life were slowly ticking away.

That's when it hit me.

I didn't want to die! I wanted to live! I wasn't ready to die, not yet!!

_"If your life was in danger, would you be able to scream?"_

Could I? Right now, in my final moments, with nothing else to lose, could I scream? Please, I know nobody cares, but somebody, somebody hear me. Somebody come save me!

I gathered the last of my strength, all that was left in me, and screamed. It started off small at first, barely making a sound, but I willed to be louder. And louder. Until finally it rang over the trees, loud and clear for all to hear.

"What a nuisance, quiet down you little brat."

A sharp claw dug into my back and all went black.

* * *

The scream wasn't very loud when it reached the ears of the village, but Inuyasha heard it just the same. It immediately made him alert. He didn't recognize whose scream it was, but when it ended abruptly, quickly followed by the faint scent of blood, Inuyasha knew something wasn't right.

He alerted the others, before running ahead by himself. He followed the scent of blood, hoping, whoever it was, that he wasn't too late.

When I awoke once more I made the mistake of trying to move. An excruciating pain coursed through my body, originating from a point in the middle of my back. I tried to keep still while figuring out what the heck was going on.

I was still in the monster's hand, but nonetheless still alive. Where was he taking me? Maybe he had some family in a dark cave somewhere and they'd all have me for dinner. I'd be like a turkey. The little monster would beg to have the legs, while the mom would want the arms, and the dad would get the rest for himself. I do not want to be turned into a Thanksgiving's main course!

Looking up I found the sky to be completely dark, the stars already dotting it. I must have been out of it for a few hours. Ha! Should've known it would be pointless screaming. It doesn't make a difference whether any sound comes out of my mouth or not, except that I'm less of a nuisance when silent.

"Ah, I see you've awaken. Don't worry, you'll get to meet the rest of my family soon," he grinned and licked his lips.

Dear god, not only am I dead, but I'm psychic now too! Just give me a clover and I'll be the luckiest girl alive!

"Hey-wha?-oof!"

I suddenly flew out of the monster's hand as he fell face first into the dirt. The idiot must have tripped over a fallen log. Weird, I hadn't seen any ahead from his hand.

You'd think I'd be happy to finally be out of that beast's hand too, but actually I'd rather be back with him at this point. I was sent flying towards a rocky overlook just above a lake. The landing was hard, sending another jolt of pain through me. I rolled to the left and felt the ground disappear below me. In a drastic attempt not to fall my hand grabbed the edge. Below me I could see the lake about twenty feet down, though it wasn't the fall that worried me.

I couldn't swim. I had never gotten a chance to learn actually. Water and I were like mortal enemies, we just didn't mix. And right now more than anything I did _not_ want to fall in that large body of water below me.

Seconds ticked by and melted into minutes. I hung there for what felt like hours. My fingers were practically numb from desperately clutching the rough ledge. It's not that I was unable pull myself up. I'd do it in a heartbeat if I could. But every time I so much as reached my other hand for that ledge my back practically screamed for mercy. Still, how much longer could I hold on?

As if answering my question my sweaty fingers started slip off one by one. I quickly grabbed for the ledge with my opposite hand, but the unending pain erupted once more from back and black spots splashed my vision. My hand missed the ledge and I fell into the murky waters below me. It was cold and instantly soaked through my clothes. I panicked. I splashed at the water desperately, trying to keep afloat. My body dipped below the water's surface and, still panicking, I opened my mouth in pursuit for air, only to choke on dirty lake water. The light shining through slowly started to fade. I barely noticed the loud splash next to me. There was a flash of red and next thing I was kneeling on the ground, coughing hoarsely. A hand smacked my back roughly and I collapsed onto the dirt. It got the water out but now the pain was back. My vision went red in a screaming blur. Then black.

* * *

Inuyasha stared in disbelief at the unconscious Shizune. It wasn't her injury that shocked him, though it did look pretty bad.

Her usually thick hair was wet and matted down, revealing two dripping black cat ears.

* * *

Did u see that coming? Tell me if you did. I left some clues to the fact that she was a cat half-demon. But it's not over yet, you gotta know her abilities. And there's another killer secret that i hope u don't see coming, that one's a while away though.


	6. Blind Rage and Tears

Sorry for the long gap, school is getting so much harder this semester! I have at least one test and 2 quizzes a week, sometimes more. I just had 3 tests in a row last Friday, one after the other. I've spent most of this weekend sleeping in an attempt to get some energy back.

**Ch. 6**

_"Hey guys, can I sit here?"_

_The girls at the table said nothing, they didn't even pause their chewing. I took this as a yes and plopped next to them. As if on cue, every kid at the table stood up, walked to the nearest open one, and sat back down again. In seconds they were eating their lunches as if they'd been sitting there the whole time._

_Days passed and everyday I sat at their table hoping their joke would eventually blow over. Boy was I wrong. _

_"Excuse me, I never got the worksheet," I said, notifying the teacher._

_"Satomi, I thought you said everyone got one," the teacher said to the student assigned to pass them out._

_"Sorry, I didn't notice she was even there," she stated innocently before dropping one carelessly on my desk._

_The days became warm and we were once again able to eat outside. This was when I decided to confront them._

_"Why are you all doing this? I don't get it."_

_"Guys, do you hear it? I keep hearing this annoying buzzing sound. I think it's a fly."_

_"Aah, don't let it get on our food!"_

_The girls started waving frantically at the air, giggling constantly as they chased their imaginary fly. _

_"You're only making yourselves look silly you know, it's not like I care," I attempted to sound nonchalant._

_"There it is again!"_

_"Quick, smack it!"_

_I sighed and walked away._

_I tried again for a few days, getting a similar response each time. Finally I decided to try a different approach. In books they're always saying how hard it is for some one to be mean to you if you're always nice back. This sounded pretty reliable._

_"Satomi, your shoes are really cute, they suit you," I complimented as I passed her and her groupies in the hall. I was afraid she'd ignore me again, but no. Whether she'd just gotten bored with having the whole class ignore me or schemed this up on the spot I'll never know. But at that moment her tactics of making my life miserable made a turn for the worse._

_"And what would _you_ know about shoes? If you're going to go around giving your opinion like that with no thought about other's feelings then thanks but no thanks. I swear you only think of yourself. My day feels practically ruined now," Satomi bent down and slipped out of her shoes. She tossed them in the trashcan and and walked off in her socks. Her friends glanced back at me with dirty looks, as if I'd just told her she had resembled Godzilla instead of liking her shoes._

_When I returned to the classroom the whole class had already been briefed on the new rules of the 'Torture Shizune' game. Over the course of the next couple weeks I was wishing that they would just ignore me again._

_During class if I answered a question right the students would give me dirty looks and whisper, "Why do you have to show off so much?" "You're just trying to make the rest of us look bad aren't you?" "Why do you have to be so selfish?"_

_So I started answering them wrong, but this only made them snicker and whisper "Did you hear her?" "Yeah, how can she be so stupid, my cat could have answered that question."_

_Every word uttered was immediately flipped and turned against me. Either I was an idiot or a selfish jerk. _

_One day I was taking my time getting from lunch to class when I was suddenly slammed into the dingy metal hall lockers. The breath was knocked out of me and I crumpled to the ground gasping. Nobody apologized for accidentally bumping into me, instead I just heard laughter and footsteps walking off to class. The bell rang and I sat staring at the grungy, white tiled floor. A drop of water dripped down on it. Seconds later it became blurry and I could feel teardrops racing down my cheeks. Afraid people would see me I dashed blindly through the hallways and to the courtyard. I found some tall bushes and sat in the middle of them, completely camouflaged. Sure that no one could see me I let the tears fall freely. I sobbed long and loud, until no tears were left to shed, leaving a red, salt encrusted face. Knowing I couldn't possibly show myself for the rest of the day I headed home. _

_I never lingered long in the hallways after that, I always got to and from class as fast as possible. Even so I still got slammed at least once a day. I would go home with bruises on my arm. They always healed by the next morning, but new ones would blossom by school day's end. _

_I once asked them to stop doing this._

_"Can you believe her?" "Yeah, accusing us of that?" "I mean. It was an accident!" "What a crybaby!" was their answer._

_Summer break came soon after their new form of bullying. When fall came and school started back up I'd hoped that they'd finally outgrown me. But on the first day of school, naive idiotic me walked calmly through the hallways until SLAM! I rushed the rest of the way. In class they laughed at me for saying "here" when called on for role. I didn't utter a word for the rest of the day._

_Crazy rumors were passed on about me. I started showing up less and less at school. But this only caused more rumors. My grades started slipping. I started getting frequent stomach aches and head aches. Sometimes I couldn't eat for days. I took to running. I ran as far as my legs would take me, as if to get away, if even just for a second, from my misery._

_"Ah, I see you've decided to join us today Izimiki. It's been while."_

_I walked to my seat, but the more I walked the farther it drifted away. I started running for it and fell flat on my face. Hundreds of legs were stretched out before me, all attempting to trip me. I frantically ran and leaped over them. Finally arriving at my desk I dropped my bag and sat down. The seat dissolved below me and I fell to the floor on my butt. Laughter erupted around me. The faces surrounded me. Started closing in on me. They became shadowed forms, with glowing red eyes and menacing smiles._

_"Look at her."_

_"I know."_

_"She's such a klutz."_

_"What an idiot."_

_"She just wants attention."_

_"I wish she'd just disappear and end our misery."_

_"She's just a nuisance nuisance nuisance nuisance nuisance nuisancenuisancenuisance........._

_"_YAH!" Reality whacked me in the forehead and I tumbled roughly to the ground. Oowww....

"What's your problem? I thought you were unconscious! If you're going to wake up and slap me upside the head then let me know first! Sheesh, you're lucky I didn't drop you when we were above the forest," chided Inuyasha as he tenderly felt the red hand mark on his cheek.

"Sorry," my hands slapped over my mouth with lightning speed. It had just slipped out.

* * *

Silence stilled the air as Inuyasha stared dumbfounded at Shizune. "Uh...don't worry about it, let's just get you to Kaede, we're at the village anyway."

Inuyasha felt like he had to treat the situation very carefully. The fact that she had spoken made him feel like he was balancing a stack of antique porcelain cups on the tip of his pinky. One wrong move could break it and make her go silent again.

They found the group waiting for them back at the cabin. Kagome walked up. "I'm glad to see you're okay Shizune, here's a towel so you can dry off."

Shizune stopped short, realizing that she was soaked. That her hair was soaked. She dashed for the door.

"Don't even think about it," Inuyasha warned as he stood blocking her escape. "You shouldn't be doing anything right now in your condition anyway. And stop that, you look silly covering your ears with your hands."

Reluctantly she lowered her hands. She accepted the towel from Kagome and draped it over her head. Inuyasha just gave an exasperated sigh and sat before the bristling fire. Unfortunately for her, everyone had now noticed her ears, and they wanted some answers.

"Shizune, are you a half-demon?" Kagome asked.

No answer, Shizune just stared at the dirt floor.

"Answer her. I know you can talk. You have no reason not to."

Shizune gave a pained glance at Inuyasha, as if he'd betrayed her. This made him feel slightly guilty.

Just then he realized he'd never gotten a good look at Shizune's eyes before, since she was always looking at the ground. There had always been something odd about them. It wasn't just that they were yellow, unlike Kagome's chocolate brown eyes, but now that he was paying attention he noticed her pupils were two black slits in the center of her amber spheres.

Kagome tried a different approach. "Here, let me fix up your wound, we wouldn't want it to get infected."

Shizune waved her offer off and pointed at her back. The demon's claw had pierced a hole in her shirt as well and through that hole you could see that the bleeding had already stopped and the wound was starting to close up.

"Right, I forgot that half-demons could heal up faster than humans c-"

"Stop calling me that!! I don't even know what you're talking about!"

Once again silence was what followed the event of Shizune's words. Her voice was small, as if uttered by a mouse, even with that last outburst. It was a bit raspy too, as if it were a rusty bike that hadn't been used in a while. They stared dumbstruck at her. She tugged at both ends of the towel on her head and and lay her chin gently on her knees. They were scraped and dirty but she didn't seem to care.

"I don't know what you're calling me but I'm not it, I'm a normal-human-being," she forced out, clutching tightly at her towel.

"No you're not, and you might as well face it, because denying it isn't going to do you any good. You're a half-demon. You are half-human and half-demon. Got it?" Inuyasha whipped the towel off her head. She didn't attempt to get it back.

Her right ear twitched. The towel in Inuyasha's hands caught on fire. He yelped and dropped it, stomping on it until it went out.

"Does that count as part of being a half demon?" she asked in a low voice, refusing to make eye contact.

"Uh yeah, I guess," Inuyasha answered, staring at to towel on the ground as if it might suddenly combust again, "How'd you do that?"

"I'm a black cat. I give good or bad luck depending on the mood, though usually it's bad."

Her voice got lower and lower with every word, with 'bad' as a barely audible whisper. She nervously pushed her black ears forward repeatedly, like a cat would do when cleaning itself. _So that's why she's always patting her head, _Inuyasha realized.

"Can you control this ability?" asked Miroku, interested.

In response Shizune stood up and walked out calmly. A light thud could be heard from above as she landed on the roof. Looked like she was done talking for the day.

* * *

I was running again. Why was I always running?! To desperately try and fail escaping from yet another problem in my life. As if I wasn't enough of a freak already, let's make me half demon! Oh yeah, those girls at school would get a kick out of that.

Anger and hate consumed me, coarsing through my veins and going to head, turning into blind rage. WHY ME?!

The was a loud series of cracks and crunching leaves, finally ending in a loud wallop that shook the earth. I stared dumbly at my hand, then at the large fallen tree on the ground. It was about 2 feet thick and broken in half. My hand barely had a scratch.

_I_ did that? _I_ had the power to do that?

I punched the nearest tree trunk as hard as I could. There was a quick second of silence, followed by a loud snap and boom as if fell back. I could see the millions of little splinters sticking up from the trunk. My fingers gently ran over them, feeling all the sharp little points that could easily cut me. Fury welled up within me again. I hit the nearest tree and listened it to fall. I punched another one, and one more. I hit every tree I could find. One by one they crashed down. The cracks and rumbles started to sound like the middle of a thunder storm.

As if on cue rain began to poor from the inky clouds aloft. Thunder now came from the heavens as well, echoing my own.

I screamed, my yells blending into the thunder. I didn't scream anything in particular, I just screamed. I hadn't let out any sound in so long, and now it was just bursting out all at once. Deep and definite.

If someone were to look at my mind right now it would probably be red. A blind, buzzing, raging red.

At some point I aimed my fist and hit only air. Letting my head clear, I looked around and found myself surrounded by fallen trees. It looked like there had just been a stampede. My hands stung and I raised them to my face. They were raw and bleeding.

I was soaked from the rain, but I hadn't noticed till now. Usually I hated rain, too much water, but at this point I didn't care. I didn't care that my ears were showing or anything. It just didn't matter right now.

A single tear rolled down my cheek. I barely felt it against the rain, but I tasted its saltiness as it hit my lip. A moment later another one followed it. Then another. And another. They wouldn't cease. I raised my hands to wipe them away, but they mixed in with the precipitation. Soon they poured out mercilessly, as heavy and constant as the raindrops. I brought both hands to my face and slowly sunk to my knees. I had always wondered why people did that in the movies, now I know it's because when you cry like this you have no strength to stand up. My hands were soar and wet, the ground was slick and muddy, but it all just washed away with the constant pattering surrounding me.

I could barely hear it against the crackling thunder, but I was sobbing loudly, not silently like I had that night before, but resonantly.

A hand rested gently on my shoulder. I gave a small jolt and looked back in surprise. It was Inuyasha. His usually annoyed or tough exterior was gone. He looked concerned. Was Inuyasha worried about me?

He said nothing as he observed my crying pathetic form. He bent down before me, indicating that I should climb on his back.

"You'll catch a cold out here in the rain."

I stared dumbstuck as his red back, but too worn out to object I climbed on. His kimono was as soaked as me, but it felt good as I lay my head against the cool wet cloth. He started walking past the fallen trees and back into the forest, on the lengthy walk back to the village.

Long and loud I bawled in the storm on his back. Once they came they wouldn't stop, and Inuyasha didn't object to my loud sobs. He just let me weep.

"Inuyasha," I said meekly between sobs, "Thank you."

There was a pause. Lightning lit the sky for a split second and was replied by an earsplitting crack of thunder. I wondered if I he had been able to here me against the storm.

"Don't mention it," he practically mumbled. I couldn't really tell from my position, but I think I saw a hint of scarlet on the side of his cheeks. He must not be used to showing the softer side of himself.

When the tears had run dry I just lay there, feeling strangely at peace, like when you're half-sleep. You're aware of what's going on around you, but yet unaware. You feel nothing, you think nothing. I was in the now, this moment, with not a single thought of the past or future, neither of us making a sound as we both melted into the rain.

* * *

I know, its a bit mushy, but we're gonna get into some real action soon! I'm also editting chapter 2 since everytime I look at it I wanna crush something with a hammer.


End file.
